Nail set



March 5, 1957 B. A. HART NAIL SET Filed Sept. 17, 1954 INVEN TOR. @i?!J/art c, 72 4, YUPA/EY Unite States Patent NAIL SET Bill A. Hart,HighlandPark, Mich.

Application September 17, 1954, Serial No. 456,748

3 Claims. (Cl. 145-46) This invention relates to improvements in a nailsetting or countersinking tool.

In the use of conventional nail sets, considerable skill and care mustbe employed to countersink a nail head without damaging the adjacentwoodwork, so that nail setting is ordinarily considered to be anexpensive time consuming operation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, highlyefficient, and economically manufactured nail setting device which canbe quickly and conveniently applied to the countersinking of finishingnails and the like without permitting injury to the woodwork.

Another object is to provide a nail set device having a base portion anda vertically reciprocable nail setting member, the base portion beingadapted to slide along the surface of a work piece and having aforwardly and downwardly opening bottom recess therein. A rear wallportion of the recess comprises a vertical stop or seat portion adaptedto seat against a nail head projecting from the work piece, thereby tolocate the nail setting member directly over the nail head in position.to coon tersink the latter when the vertically reciprocable memher isdriven downwardly. Diverging forwardly from the stop or seat, the wallsof the recess also comprise guides, whereby after the countersinking ofone nail, the nail set device is readily slid forwardly on its baseportion along the work piece toward the next successive nail head. Asthe latter nail head enters the forward opening of the recess, it isguided by the rearwardly converging sidewalls of the recess to acountersinking position seated against the stop directly under thevertically reciprocable nail setting member.

Another object is to provide such a device wherein said base comprisesrubber-like material, the rearwardly converging guidewalls beingresiliently yieldable at the region of the stop to conform to nail headsof different diameters located directly under the nail setting mem ber.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following descriptionand appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsforming a part of this specification wherein like reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a nail setting device embodying thepresent invention, portions of the body of the device being shown invertical longitudinal mid-section.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the device.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the device.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary bottom view showing the device seated against anail head to be countersunk.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in itsapplication to the details of construction and arrangement of partsillustrated in the accompanying draw ing's, since the invention iscapable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out invarious ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology orterminology employed herein is for the purpose 'of description and notof limitation.

Referring in more particularity to the drawings, a nail setting devicecomprising a body 10 of rigid material, such as steel for'example,.having .a rearwardly extending cylindrical shank or handleportion 11, is shown in position for 'countersinking a nailheadSllfin'to a work piece 29. The rear portion of the handle 11 ta: persconically and terminates in a conventional nailpunch end 12. Integralwith the body '10 and coaxial with the handle 11 is a forward boss 13adapted to be pounded by a hammer. Thus the device may be employedvertically as a conventional nail set in the countersinking of nailheads adjacent moldings or walls wherein the device as describedhereinafter cannot be conveniently used.

In the normal operating position of the device as illustrated in Fig. 1,the handle 11 inclines slightly rearwardly to facilitate its beinggripped in the hand of the operator. Extending vertically into the topof the body 10 is a cylindrical bore 14 for a vertically reciprocablenail setting or punching member 15. A lower conical portion Idol? thelatter coaxial with the bore 14 tapers downwardly and terminates at itslower end in a customary nail set. Reciprocal within the bore 14 inhearing relation with the side-walls thereof is an enlarged annularportion 17 of the member 15 which underlies a retaining collar 18screwed into an enlarged upper portion of the bore 14. Above theenlargement 17, the member 15 extends cylindrically upwardly through thecollar 18 in sliding. relation. .Downward movement :of the member 15 isadjus'tably limited by the enlarged head of a movement limiting screw 19screwed coa'x'ia'lly into the upper end of the member 15 and locked inadjusted position by a locking nut 20 screwed on'th'e threaded portionof screw 19 tightly against the member 15.

In operation, the member 15 is yieldingly maintained at its upper limitof movement, Fig. 1, by a coil spring 21 under compression between thebody of the member 15, at the upper end of the nail setting portion 16,and a bottom spring retainer portion 22 of the body 10 at the base ofthe bore 14. Opening coaxially into the bore 14 through the springretainer 22 is a bore 23 through which the nail setting member 16 isreciprocable.

Underlying and bonded to the body 10 is a base member 24 of resilientlydeformable rubber or rubber-like material having an upper annulus 25interlocked with the body 10 within an annular channel thereof. Coaxialwith the bore 23 is a bore 26 within the base 24 which opens downwardlyinto the rear of a forwardly enlarg ing and bottom opening recess in theforward bottom portion of the base 24. The sidewalls 27 of the latterbottom opening recess are arranged symmetrically with respect to thevertical longitudinal midplane of the device and diverge forwardly, froma point immediately rearwardly of the vertical axis of the nail settingmember 16, to the forward edge of the base 24, whereby the aforesaidbottom opening recess also opens forwardly, Figs. 2 and 3. The undersideof the base 24 comprises a smooth flat surface 28 adapted to glide alongthe surface of the workpiece 29 having one or more nailheads 30projecting'therefrom prior to being countersunk.

In operation, the tool or device is gripped by the handle portion 11 andplaced with the base surface 28 resting on the surface of the workpiece29 at a location rearwardly of the nail head 30 to be countersunk. Thedevice is then slid forwardly along the workpiece 29 until the nail head30 is caused to enter the forward enlarged opening between the sidewalls27. Upon continued forward movement of the device, the converging walls27 guide the nailhead 30 to the nail setting position with the punchingmember 16 aligned directly over the head 30. A hammer blow on theenlarged head of the screw 19 drives the member -16 downwardly,countersinking the nailhead 30 to the extent permitted by engagementbetween the head of screw 19 and the upper surface of the collar 18. Thedepth of the countersink is suitably adjusted by turning the screw 19after first loosening the nut 20.

By virtue of the base 24 of rubber or rubber-like material, the latteris resiliently yieldable to prevent marring of the workpiece 29 duringthe oounter sinking operation. Furthermore, by virtue of theyieldability of the sidewalls 27, the device 'is readily adapted for usewith nailheads of different diameters. Thus as illustrated in Fig. 4where the diameter of the nailhead 30:: shown is somewhat larger thanthe diameter of the nailhead 30, the sidewalls 27 will yieldsufiiciently to permit centering of the head 30a directly beneath thesetting member 16. The operator will vary the forward pressure on thehandle 11 in accordance with the diameter of the nailhead to becountersunk, thereby to cause the latter to be centered in each instancedirectly under the setting member 16.

I claim:

1. In a nail punch adapted to register with the projecting head of anail to be countersunk, a body having a base and also having a forwardlyopening notch in said base for receiving said nail head upon forwardmovement of said body, said notch having sides comprising guidesconverging rearwardly to seat portions to seat against said nail head,and a reciprocable member mounted on said body to shift upwardly anddownwardly, said member having a nail punching portion overlying saidnotch forwardly of said seat portions and being shiftable downwardlyinto said notch, said member also having an upper head adapted toreceive a blow to drive said nail punching portion into said notch, andmeans yieldingly urging said member upwardly, the sides of said notch atsaid seat portions being of resiliently deformable material yieldable toconform to the diameter of said nail head seated thereat.

2. In a nail punch, a body having a lower gliding surface adapted toslide along the surface of a material to be nailed and also having aforwardly and downwardly opening notch therein adapted upon forwardsilding of said gliding surface along said material to receive theprojecting head of a nail to be countersunk, a vertically reciprocablepunch mounted on said body and having a lower end overlying said notchand adapted to be driven thereinto to countersink said head, meansyieldingly urging said punch upwardly, said notch having a forwardopening appreciably oversize with respect to the diameter of said headand also having sides converging rearwardly from said forward openingand cooperating upon forward movement of said body to cam said head intoposition registering with said lower end.

3. In a nail punch, a body having a handle portion and a lower baseportion, said base portion having a lower gliding surface adapted toslide along the surface of a material to be nailed and having aforwardly and downwardly opening notch therein adapted upon forwardsliding of said base portion along said material to receive theprojecting head of a nail to be countersunk, a vertically reciprocablepunch mounted on said body and having a lower end overlying said notchand adapted to be driven thereinto to countersink said head, meansyieldingly urging said punch upwardly, said notch having sidesconverging rearwardly from its forward opening and cooperating uponforward movement of said body to cam said head into position registeringwith said lower end, said sides adjacent said position also comprisingresilently deformable materal adapted to conform to nail heads ofdifferent diameters at said position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,500,253 Miller July 8, 1924 2,078,012 Newell Apr. 20, 1937 2,094,459Lipson Sept. 28, 1937 2,557,000 Holmes June 12, 1951 2,669,896 CloughFeb. 23, 1954

